Kansai Niichan Love
by CatMuto
Summary: TokiMemo Girl's Side - Story following the gameplay, turned into a real story. Going after Madoka.
1. Introduction

Another story of mine, this time not about Tales of Symphonia.

I wrote this story a bit as a storyline page for me, since I'm playing with

the thought of turning this into a manga. And this helps me to weed out

ideas not to put in the manga form. Quick data the heroine is named Haruka Sekai

with her birthday dated as August 1st and with bloodtype AB.

* * *

_"Once upon a time a travelling prince crossed a kingdom in which a beautiful princess lived._

_As soon as his eyes had set on her he had fallen in love with her. His feelings were reciprocated._

_The princess' father - the king -, though, did not wish for his daughter to marry the prince._

_So, in anger, he threw the prince out of his kingdom._

_The prince and princess, however, met at the gate one night. They pledged their eternal love_

_to another. 'Wait for me and I promise I will return to you, no matter what' , he told his love_

_and kissed her hand through the gate bars. 'I will wait forever, if I have to. However, I will_

_pray for your swift and safe return to me ..'_

_The princess spent every day and night at the chapel, praying for her love's return to her_

_and for his health." the young boy's voiced echoed through the halls of the church._

_His arm lifted and he pointed to something straight ahead. "Look. Over there. That stained glass_

_window. It was modelled after the legend." She looked at the boy, but couldn't quite lift her head_

_high enough to see his face, but merely his lips moving. "I wonder if the prince managed to return_

_to the princess .. I'm sure he did. Say, let's meet here again, yes? Every day. A promise, okay?"_

_

* * *

_

Haruka sat up with a start in her bed and screwed up her face in confusion. What a strange dream ..

Yet it had felt familiar somehow, like it had really happened. But that was nonsense. Dreams are dreams

and nothing more. She swung her legs out of bed and started to get dressed, proudly fondling the navy

blue uniform of her new school.

"Sis, you up?" a boy with short auburn hair entered the room without knocking and grinned at his sister,

so fond of her uniform. "Yes, finally the day you go to Habataki High, I know .. Man, I hope you will come

off your happy-cloud about it soon."

Haruka ignored that comment - yes, she had been rather restless about the prospect about changing from

middle to high school. And Habataki High was one of the best schools, after all. Her excitement should've

been understandable from her little brother. With a short word of goodbye she put her favorite brown

ankle boots on and left for school.

* * *

Habataki High was a newly built construction and shaped like an L. Already several students were miling

about the outside, eager to go inside and into their new classes or to stroll around the lot. Realizing

that she was rather early, Haruka decided to walk around the lot and see the volleyball and basketball

courts and the other buildings spread out.

It only took her a few minutes to see, a little tucked away behind some large trees, the chapel. It was

small and the bell tower was placed right at the front, whitewashed and yet it looked rather old. The amount

of trees around it gave it a pretty scenery, making it appear like one found themselves suddenly in a forest.

Interested, Haruka stepped closer feeling a bit intimidated. Or rather awestruck. The chapel was, despite

it's size, an impressive building. She took a step back, about to go back to the main building, but lost her

balance and fell rather hard on the ground.

"Here." a deep, soft voice said and a hand extended towards her. The hand belonged to a guy her age

with ashblond hair that circled his face but was styled to outwards bending spikes. His bright blue eyes

looked down at her and she couldn't stop staring at him. "What's wrong? Come on."

She took the hand and he helped her up, she patted some dust off her skirt nervously. "I'm sorry, Senpai."

"I'm also a first-year." he said. "You should hurry up and go back."

"Ah, yes." Haruka said nervously, wondering why she felt that she was caught misbehaving. "Um, thanks for helping me up .."

"Hazuki. Hazuki Kei." the guy answered. "Now go."

Haruka nodded again, "See you later, Hazuki-kun." and hurried back to the main building.

* * *

Haruka sighed in relief. That scene just now left her feeling embarrassed - not the fact that the first guy she met in her new

school was so good-looking, but just the way he had talked to her, had helped her up close to the chapel. His voice seemed

to indicate that students weren't allowed there. Then again, what was he doing there?

"Hey there!" and a slight bang on her back made Haruka start. "Sorry, did that hurt?"

The girl who had spoken had brown hair that looked almost orange turned up to a spikey ponytail. There seemed to be a permanent

grin in her eyes, even if her lips would be turned down to a frown. Haruka stared in a daze, but caught herself fast enough.

"No. No, just .. you know, surprised me." she said with a handwave. "Say, are you a first-year?"

"Yup. Fujii Natsumi. You can call me Natsumi."

"Ah, Sekai Haruka. Nice to meet you." Haruka hesitated for a moment, but thought that asking couldn't hurt. "Do you perhaps know

anything about Hazuki-kun?"

" .. 'Hazuki-kun?' Ah, Hazuki Kei, sure I know him. Well, not personally, but I've heard about him. First-year but he's already one of

the most known students in the entire school, his grades from middle school were perfect, he looks good and his pretty much

a perfect guy. He even models part-time! Between us, he's quite the catch, Haruka. I can call you Haruka, right?"

"Sure. Wow .. he models .." she mumbled and started when the bell rang. "Got to go. See you, Fujii-san-"

"Call me Natsumi." Natsumi grinned and waved before rushing off to her own class.

In the classroom, Haruka sighed and waited for the teacher to arrive. She had already seen some of her classmates and Hazuki

was among them. Also a girl with short red hair and glasses, who looked rather stern straight ahead at the blackboard,

as if there was an extremely interesting message written on it, and a girl with short green hair and bright eyes that were a brown

color that looked almost red. The door slid open and a tall man with pale skin and even paler lavender hair entered, pushing his

oval glasses up before facing the class.

"Welcome to Habataki High School, I'm your homeroom, math and physics teacher, Himuro Reiichi. Over the next three years I'll

teach you everything I know. Any questions?" he said in a cool, yet stern voice.

"Yes, here!" a girl smirked boldly. "Sensei, do you have a lover?"

"Aside from questions in that direction!" Himuro replied with slight annoyance. "None? Very well. I'll take attendance before I go

over your test schedule for this trimester."

He read off name after name until he finally got to the lower bottom of the list. "Sekai." and his eyes, the same cold lavender

color as his hair, searched hers. "Your tie is crooked. Fix it."

With a slightly embarrassed gasp Haruka quickly pulled the ends of her tie and got them straight while the rest of attendance was made.

* * *

The rest of the schoolday went by in a slight blur, the typical first-schoolday shuffle went on with slight groans of the amount of

homework already given to them. Back at home Haruka took her shoes off and felt exhausted even before her brother approached her.

"Sis, welcome back!" he said with his typically loud voice.

".. I'm back." she replied with no enthusiasm and walked towards her room to change.

"So, did you meet any cute guys you want to date?"

The question made Haruka stop dead and turn in slight amazement towards her brother. "Tsukushi .." she struggled for the right

words. "What's with that question?"

"Well, Sis never had a date before or a boyfriend. I mean you're in high school now. It's time you get a guy!" he told her, following

her with fast steps into her room. "I would feel terrible if I got a girlfriend before my Sis did."

Furiously, Haruka fumbled with her corrected tie and flung it onto her desk. "Why does it matter that much to you? And the chance

of you getting a girlfriend soon is pretty slim, I believe. I don't need to worry about it so soon-"

"So you met a guy!" Tsukushi grinned when his sister blushed. "It's okay you can tell your little brother. Just tell me their name and I'll

get you any information you might need. You can trust your little bro's spy-skills."

Haruka sighed, defeated. "Sure. If I need any information I'll come to you .." she said it more to get rid of him rather than actually

taking him up on his offer. It seemed to have worked, because Tsukushi left her room to go into his own, and she finished changing.

A few hours later, while she was busy trying to make sense of a math assignment, the phone rang and she picked it up instictively.

"Hello?"

"Ah .." the other one said and seemed to hesitate. ".. who's there?"

"Sekai. Haruka." she added fast.

"Ah .. It's Hazuki-"

"Hazuki-kun?" Haruka couldn't help but be surprised. Why was he calling her? Was he calling her? What for? And how did he get her number?

"Ah, I must've misdialled. .. Bye." and he hung up.

Confused, Haruka looked at the display and still saw Hazuki's number printed on it. And she wrote it down, in case she ever felt like

calling him.

* * *

A week went by without much happening. Trying to get into the rhythm of things, Haruka spent most of her time learning the layout

of school, doing homework and reading the Habataki Watcher. Usually she read it online, but she saw the magazine in it's paper form at

a stand close by school once and quickly made it a habit of buying and reading it. It had a lot of information on Habataki and it's

surroundings. Haruka's favorite column, though, was about what the most fashionable accessory or color was during that month.

She always did have a weakness for fashion.

But she usually spent lunch break reading it alone. Arisawa Shiho, the red-haired girl with glasses, was rather a no-nonsense kind of

person and didn't seem that interested in fashion, but more into studying. And Konno Tamami, the green-haired girl, was usually the

longer half of the lunch break in the gym, managing the girl's basketball team. Sometimes Natsumi joined Haruka, but not always.

Finished with lunch one day, Haruka sat in the hall in front of her classroom and flipped through the Habataki Watcher, looking for

her horoscope.

"Haruka-chan? Is you, eh?"

Surprised she looked up and saw a guy with tanned skin, wild and slightly long purple hair looking back at her. His hazel eyes had a funny

glint in them and she noticed that around his neck, keeping the focus from his shirt which had the first button undone, a thin leather choker.

"Ah, yeah." Haruka said and got up, feeling like she should do that.

"Yah, I heard about ya." he said and grinned friendly. "Also saw ya reading the Watcher a lot."

Haruka kept looking in his eyes - or at least trying to not look at the slight amount of skin showing below his collar bone - and felt amazed

at hearing his kansai accent. She hadn't heard it before. It fascinated her.

"Say, when school's over, wanna go on a date?" he asked.

"Hah?" she couldn't help but feel rather dumb about her stunned reaction, but being asked out suddenly during lunch break in the hallway

from a guy she just met freaked her out a bit. "Wh .. I .. Who are you?"

"Ah, sorry. I'm Kijyou Madoka." he introduced himself with an apologetic smirk. "So, how 'bout it? We could check the park-Ah .. damn .."

Haruka wondered why his attitude changed suddenly and saw him sigh and scratch the back of his head.

"I forgot. I start work today .." he sighed again, seeming to take the sudden date-decline - to which Haruka had no chance to react yet -

rather hard. He snipped his fingers the next second, though. "How 'bout we do it during Golden Week?"

"Huh? Um .." she replied smartly. She really wished she could handle this situation better and think of something else to say.  
Kijyou looked at her. "If ya don't want to, is okay." and shrugged his shoulders a bit.

"Uh, no, no. I mean, sure. Sure let's uh .. let's go." she stammered suddenly.

Kijyou smiled and waved when the bell rang for the end of lunch break. "Meet at 1, okay?"

Haruka nodded and entered her classroom after watching Kijyou disppear into the room of her parallel-class.

* * *

I'm leaving some japanese terms in, but Tsukushi is referring to Haruka as Sis because ..

well his voice is the same as Genius' japanese voice and with my ToS stories I'm sort of used to using Sis now.

I wasn't quite sure how to make Madoka's speech - I didn't want to do it like Gaki's from Zettai Kareshii, who is also

from kansai, cause that would've been a bit hard to understand. So I went for this.

By the way, the better the relationship between Haruka and Madoka gets he will be referred to as Madoka in later

chapters.


	2. Part Time Job

Hardly any reviews ..

Is this because the series is never brought out of japan?

Or because it focuses on Madoka - who, apparently, some think is boring due to being

a stereotypical playboy? Every guy in Girl's Side is a stereotype!

Well .. except .. maybe Amanohashi .. moustache ..

* * *

"Sis, you have a date?" Tsukushi asked in total astonishment, watching Haruka fuss in front of the mirror.

"Like it's a huge surprise to you - you urge me to date, I date." she answered, ignoring the fact that she had not

been the one to actually propose the date. She had merely reacted. "Now, get out." And closed the door to change.

About thirty minutes later she reappeared with her hair slightly styled, the denim jacket and kneelength skirt made from

the same faded out material, getting ready to put some shoes on.

"Haah? For a girl on her first date, you put up well." Tsukushi complimented her and dodged her hand the next second.

"Don't know when I'll be back." Haruka said and left, closing the door behind her.

* * *

A cool breeze was going through the air and yet the sun was warm on that day. Good weather for spending time outside,

but not too warm to leave jackets at home. Haruka took a shortcut she had found a while ago to the park and waited

at the entrance, where she would meet Kijyou. She had to think of the way he had asked for the date. Coming up to her,

introducing himself and asking her out. How very strange. Yet it impressed her. He seemed sure of himself and easy-going,

like he didn't care that much about what the future might hold.

Looking up and down the way, then at her watch, Haruka sighed. Kijyou was a bit late. Not by much, nor did she put so

much emphasis on punctuality, but it did concern her. But she already saw him running towards her.

"Yah, sorry. I was so excited, I barely slept, so I overslept." he apologized with an embarrassed grin.

Haruka just laughed it off, noticing how he looked older with the beige jacket.

They walked through the park, talking about irrelevant things. "Ey, wanna take a long way 'round the park?" Kijyou asked

her after a while.

"Sure-"

"Hey, it's the Kansai O-nii-chan!" someone called and about four or five boys started crowding around Kijyou, pulling slightly

on his jacket. "You haven't been here in a while!"

"Yah, sorry, guys. Busy and all." Kijyou said, bending down slightly from the pulling.

"Hey, Nii-chan, can you play with us? Soccer, like last time? Can you?" one of the boys asked. Haruka looked at the scene

in slight surprise. Having a little brother, she knew how to handle kids and interact with them, but being suddenly confronted

with some made her freeze for a moment.

"Ah, sorry." Kijyou said, looking at Haruka. "Been spendin' time with them and such." he looked back at the boys. "Come on,

guys, not today. I'm on a date."

The boys looked over at Haruka, apparently checking her out if she was of any good material. "Nii-chan, is that girl your girlfriend?"

"Ah, well .." he avoided answering the question directly. "Come on, go and play." The boys thankfully left after that, running to a

big spot to play some soccer by themselves. "They can be a handful at times, hm .."

"I know that feeling." Haruka told him. "My little brother gets my goat at times, too." They started on the long walk around the park,

seeing some bushes that were cut into artistic forms. Or watched the lake that was close by, the boats from the boat hire all in line,

just waiting for summer to come, so they would be used by couples again.

Hours passed and both leaned against the railings of the walk, just talking about what came to their minds. They discovered that both

were subscribers to the Habataki Watcher, both liking the fashion and event news. Both not liking school work so much ..

"Was fun today. We should hang out more often." Kijyou grinned at the park entrance.

"Of course. See you at school." Haruka agreed and they waved lazily when they split their way to their respective homes.

* * *

"I'm home .."

Surprised, Tsukushi leaned out of his room. "Sis, you're already back? I'd have expected you sneaking in at two a.m. after spending

hours talking with that guy - and doing some other things-"

"Exactly what games is it that you play? That's not how it goes in real life." Haruka interrupted him while knocking her shoes off.

Tsukushi just sighed and shrugged his shoulder, going back into his room. Haruka went into her own room, thinking of the date.

It hadn't really seemed like a date, more like pals who hang out together on a free sunday. But she didn't really expect anything

to happen - it was just the first date. Wait .. did that mean she wanted to date him again? It wasn't that the date was bad

or anything like that. Even if those kids had interrupted it halfway through. It hadn't turned out bad, after all. Kijyou had been nice

to them, managed to get rid of them fast.

If there was one thing that impressed a girl, it was a guy who could handle and get along with kids .. but she didn't think of him like that!

He was just a fun guy to hang out with - even if she had done it only once up to now. His selfconfidence wasn't something he pretended

to have and he felt comfortable with life and himself. His clothes had shown that - and if there was one thing Haruka was proud of, it was

the ability to judge a person's character by their clothes.

Getting up, Haruka walked down the hall and knocked on the light door with 'Tsukushi' written on it in colorful clay. "Come in!" Haruka opened

the door and saw Tsukushi playing a game on his computer. When she was a few steps away, though, he paused the game and was about

to turn around, when Haruka put her arms around his neck and nuzzled his cheek.

"Say, little brother, dearest .." she started.

"What do you want?" Tsukushi asked with a smile.

"About that offer you made .." Haruka said. "Would you be a sweetheart and find something out for me?"

"Okay, okay, who's your target?"

"Kijyou Madoka." she answered, wondering about the target thing.

Tsukushi sighed, as if it was unbearably hard work for him, which it wasn't. "Sure thing, sis. You'll get his data by wednesday."

"You're the best little brother in the world, Tsuku-kun." Haruka ruffled his hair with her hand before leaving his room, feeling a bit giddy and

somehow embarrassed for wanting to find out some things about Kijyou. Sure, she could ask him herself, but that would seem weird.

Asking things after meeting someone only twice.

Even if it was an open personality like Kijyou.

* * *

In school, Haruka shuffled around the halls and not seeing Kijyou a lot. It wasn't that she was trying to avoid him, she just didn't really know

how to act after a date. And since they were in different classes - and Kijyou was often gone shortly after the last bell rang - they didn't

meet each other that often, only a usual polite handwave or nod when seeing each other fleetingly in the hall. So a few days went by and

when Haruka came home, Tsukushi greeted her with a big grin reaching from one ear to the other.

"Heheehehee .." he went, waving around a notpad in his hand. "I got it!"

"What?" she couldn't figure out what he meant. "Why are you so giddy, anyway?"

"Sis, you already forgot, I can't believe it!" Tsukushi sighed dramatically. "I hold the key to your love life's luck!"

Something in her head made 'click' and she remembered what she had asked him to do.

"You got his data! Oh you're the sweetest ..!"

"However, I won't give it to you for nothing." her little brother waggled his finger all importantly.

"Yeah, yeah, you can choose dinner today. Now hand it over!" she grabbed it from him and flipped through the pages.

Kijyou was a gemini, born on June 18th with a bloodtype A ..

Her eyes flew over his cellphone number to little nitpicky information about his school life. Apparently, Kijyou wasn't in any school club,

due to working at the gasoline stand after school was out.

"Gasoline stand? Mh, rings a bell .." Haruka muttered to herself, trying to remember where she heard it before.

Then she remembered that she had applied there as a part-time worker herself a few days ago - her shopping expenses had increased ..

Pushing that thought aside, she studied the data again. His was 1.85 m .. admittingly, she wasn't very tall herself .. She had just broken

the 1.60 m line herself. And her eyes fell on the next information Tsukushi had snatched. His measurements ..

"How the devil did you get that info??" she asked, giving Tsukushi a nugging, squeezing out the source.

"Ayaiyai, when I get info, I get all the info!" he freed himself from her and rescued himself into his room, leaving Haruka to study notepad.

Well .. maybe knowing his measurements might come in handy .. someday ..

* * *

"Haruka-chan!"

Haruka turned around in the hall to see Kijyou behind her, his hand held up in a lean matter of 'hello'.

"Jo .." she muttered. She still felt a bit weird about meeting him after the date. Why were there no guide books about these things?

"Read the new Watcher issue?" he asked, not noticing - or ignoring - her slight uneasiness. "New construction finally finished."

Confused, Haruka unfolded the Habataki Watcher and leafed through the blue bordered pages. Sure enough the constructions that had

been going on at the Habataki Station close to the sea had finished.

"The 'Habataki Tower'?" she mumbled, having heard about the walk next to the lake there, but not about the planned tower being built.

"Wanna go there on sunday? If ya're free." Kijyou asked all of a sudden and Haruka lifted her head in surprise.

Once again the sudden question had stumped her, made her freeze. Once again she wasn't sure what to say or do.

But somehow her head forced her out of her mental frozen status faster than last time.

"Yeah, sure. New things are there to check out, after all." she grinned and they haggled for a few seconds on when to meet at the Station.

Not making any movements to go to their respective classes they stood in the halls, talking a bit about this and that, when the window of

the parallel class was slid open and Natsumi leaned out.

"Hey, Kijyou. Sensei wants you to hurry up and get your butt in here. The bell rang five minutes ago." she grinned with a cheeky glint

in her eyes. "Iyo, Haruka."

"Hi, Natsumi-chan." Haruka greeted her back, never having really gotten to know in which class Natsumi was. So she was in her parallel class,

together with Kijyou ..

"Fhe, fine. See ya, Haruka-chan. An' no cancelin'." Kijyou said and waved before slandering into his class.

Haruka hurried into her own class, not wanting to find out how scary Himuro-sensei might be when infuriated.

However, she couldn't quite concentrate on the upcoming lessons, her mind kept slipping back to a few minutes ago when Kijyou had asked

her out on a date. Again. Either he liked going out or he was interested in her. Well, wether it was the first or latter didn't matter.

It would seem weird, and somehow unfair, for Kijyou to always be the one to take the initiative and set up dates. She just had to overcome

that tiny shyness in her and ask _him_ out. Or, at least, not freeze up when he asked ..

Those thoughts, and similar ones, haunted her for the rest of the school day, until the last bell made her jump out of her shell. Through the usual

post-lessons shuffle she walked, changing from the shoes that where mandatory to wear in school to her ankle boots, and took a note from her

bag. The Gas Station had called her last evening, telling her that she was hired as a student part-time worker. Two afternoons after school,

she'd spend working at the Gas Station.

Checking the paper again for the adress and making sure she knew how to get there, she set off.

"Ah, Sekai-kun, right? Glad you could make it." her boos was a bit of a hefty man, his sleeves rolled up to his elbows. "Well, like I told you,

you'll work Wednesdays and Fridays from 4 PM to 8 PM. Your uniform is given to you by us, but it's your responsibility to take it home every now

and then and keep it clean. Any questions?"

"None, sir." she answered, having found the place and asked the cashier for the manager. He showed her around the gas station, where the

workers could take a break for a snack or where to leave their possessions and similar. Finally, after telling him her size, he gave her a uniform

in that size and left her alone so she could change. The jacket was orange, as was the cap, but the chest part in a blue striped fashion.

And, of course, being the women's uniform, it consisted of a skirt. Orange like the cap, but about a third shorter than the knee-lengthed school

skirts. Finished dressed, though, Haruka searched for the manager again and he pointed to a co-worker, who was just sending off a customer.

"He'll explain the ropes. Any trouble, ask him or me." he waved and Haruka approached the co-worker.

"Excuse me .."

"Haruka-chan?"

Haruka gasped almost in surprise when she saw Kijyou in front of her! True, it was hard to recognize him at first due to the uniform. And with the

cap that hid part of his hair it was harder to notice him right away. But most certainly it was Kijyou, in the orange uniform, in front of her

and her co-worker and superior.

"Eh .. Jo." she said awkwardly. Because, what else are you supposed to say in such a situation?

"Watcha doin' here? Part-time?" he asked and she nodded. "Ah, well. Here's to good co-operation!"

"Ah, yes. I'll do my best." Haruka nodded and bowed a little. "Well, the manager sent me to you to learn the works."

"Thought so. Pretty easy, once ya get the hang of it. Ya know, wipe windows, empty ashtray, stuff like that."

"And bring the change to the customer, I know .." Haruka sighed silently, feeling so uneasy again. She wasn't sure if it was because she was

nervous about the job or because of Kijyou.

"Heeeh?" Kijyou grinned and playfully pulled her cheeks a bit. "Ya bein' smarty to a superior?"

"No." Haruka grinned herself and he let go. "Just .. you know. Nervous, a bit."

"Nervous is good. Keeps ya focused." Kijyou handwaved it away and noticed another car driving up. "Watch first if ya're not sure."

He quickly stepped to the car's rolled down passenger window. "Good day, sir. Need the ashtray emptied?"

Haruka watched the short dialoge between Kijyou and the customer, how Kijyou washed the windows, emptied the ashtray and, when the

time for paying up came, walked inside to bring the change out. He even managed to swiftly navigate the driver back into the busy traffic.

It hadn't taken long, merely a minute or two and Haruka felt nervous again if she would managed to do that.

"You're good, Kijyou-kun." she said with admiration, but not looking at him.

"Just practice. Ya'll get the hang of it." he bent down to look into her face. "And no sad face. Remember the most important thing when

with a customer. The smile."

He wether he demonstrated it or really meant it, he smiled which made Haruka smile as well.

"Don't worry. Ya're not gonna be on yar own at first. Just stick with me for a while."

* * *

Mrh, I was stuck for a while. But I managed to work around it.

Well, there are going to be descriptions of the clothes, though, because later on, in manga form, I won't have to fuss about

what to dress them in. So it makes things easier for me and it gives you guys an idea on what they look like.

Things are going rather slowly or boring right now, but after a few more dates - like in the game - and Kijyou moves up to

'smiling stage' there will be several dates and more interesting things to write about. This can still be seen as part of the 'preparation chapters'.


	3. Spring Shower

Somehow, I'm in the spirit of things and get more ideas as the day goes by!

And once I've learned how to draw Haruka's hair right - and different hairdoes with her - I'll be able to start the manga again.

In the meantime, I hope you enjoy the story version.

* * *

Haruka sighed deeply, sitting in a loose fetal position on the grass.

It was thurdsay and lunch break. The warm weather had seduced a lot of students to grab their lunches and eat outside on the grass.

Haruka had done the same, sitting with her back against a tree in the shade. But she was too exhausted to really eat, her thoughts

circling over work yesterday. She had been no help - or hardly any help at all. Sure, it was her first day and she shouldn't be so frustrated

about it not having been so good, but she still felt bad.

"Jo."

She looked up and saw Kijyou bending down to her, smiling widely.

"Whatcha lookin's so sad 'bout? Nice weather, break an' a date on sunday. What could be wrong?" he asked, sitting down next to her.

Haruka started a bit at the sudden closeness and straightened her back with force. But she told herself to relax. She hadn't been close

to a lot of guys in middle school, so this was rather new to her. Just calm down and relax.

"Just bummed about work." she answered, relaxing her position again, the sandwich still in it's package on her lap.

"Why's that? Ya did good."

Haruka looked at him with sarcastic disbelieve. "No, I wasn't. I barely knew front to back. I'm still terribly exhausted."

"Ah, just stress. Ya were new. Once ya work a bit more ya'll get used to it and won't feel tired." he told her, starting his own lunch.

Somehow, speaking with Kijyou about the problem made her feel better and she finally started on her sandwich. Presently, though,

she picked up the Watcher that had been lying next to her and flipped to the pages about the new tower.

"So why exactly did they build this? Is there anything special?" she asked.

"Mh, not really. The viewing platform's high enough so ya can see almost all of Habataki." he explained, pointing to the height and

diameter which were written in the article. "Mostly been built cause they're thinkin' of towing down the ferris wheel."

"Hmm .." Haruka had read about the amusement park and it's ferris wheel. It was an old ferris wheel, recently celebrating it's

20th birthday. Popular as it was with couples and kids, fact was that it was old, and the key for keeping up an amusement park

was to build new attractions. And for that old things had to go.

They finished their lunch, talking about what all they could do at the tower on their date and about work.

"S'riously, once ya relax ya'll be a great help." Kijyou told her and got up, stretching. "And if ya need help, just ask for it."

He held his hand towards her, helping her up when the bell rang. "Hey, Kijyou-san."

Kijyou raised his eyebrows at her. "Ya can leave the 'san'."

"Just calling you 'Kijyou' would be weird .." Haruka mumbled. "Maybe I'll stick with Kijyou-kun, after all. Anyway, you want to walk

home together after school?"

"Sure. Meet ya at the gate." he grinned.

* * *

Lessons didn't seem to go by fast enough for her, the prospect of walking home together with Kijyou seemed to lift her spirits

whenever she tought about it. There was something about his presence that made her feel at ease, that there wasn't really

anything she had to worry about.

Feeling slightly giddy, she waited at the gate after school. It didn't take long, since Kijyou was almost next to her in an instant.

They walked along the southern road, the sun almost not blinding them, and talked about the lessons. Both agreed that Himuro-sensei

might be a really good teacher, but he was also rather scary at times.

"Say, Kijyou-kun, your birthday's soon." Haruka said all of a sudden. "Anything special you wish for?"

Kijyou started a moment at the sudden mention and looked down at her in surprise. "When did ya find out 'bout my birthday?"

Haruka noticed the trap she had set herself. 'I had my brother spy on you and tell me everything about you' wasn't something she

could tell him so easily! "I .. looked up your file in the school database." she stammered.

"Ah." he didn't say anything for a while as they continued to walk. "Well, nothin' really I wish for, no. I just have an obsession

with antique things."

They remained quiet for the rest of the walk. At the playground, they had to go separate ways, so they said their goodbyes and

went different ways. Instead of turning right towards her home, Haruka went left to get to one of the big shopping districts she had

read about in the Habataki Watcher. Looking through several stores, she was looking, of course, for a birthday present to get Kijyou.

She mostly found accessory stores and she didn't want to buy him a tie. He didn't seem like the type for ties, anyhow.

Finally, tucked in a side street, she found a small shop. It was dimmely lit, the atmosphere made it seem like it hadn't been cleaned in

ages, but it was well kept. And among compact mirrors and gold watches did she find the perfect gift. An antique tea cup.

It was small, an eggshell color with a swirly golden pattern printed on the outside. Haruka instantly walked to the counter with it and

paid the 1.500 Yen for it, watching the clerk wrapping it in tissue paper and laying it into a box to keep it from breaking.

Satisfied with her purchase, Haruka went home and ignoring Tsukushi's cheeky comments about her happy face.

"Something good happen with Kijyou-nii?" he asked, grinning.

"Nothing that'll interest you. Just another date on sunday." she told him, getting the wrapping paper out of the closet.

"Another date? You two just went on one!" he gasped, then shrugged his shoulders. "He sure doesn't fool around long."

Haruka rolled her eyes and ignored him, wrapping the gift and setting aside some time to figure out what to wear on the date.

* * *

Worried, Haruka looked out of the window. A coldspell had moved in saturday morning and the weather had not gotten better since then.

It even seemed to have gotten worse, the clouds hung low and didn't look too white. Personally, she loved rainy days - keeping the windows

wide open, the smell of the wet grass in the air, refreshing her senses. Stepping away from the window, she slipped her robe off and doned

the maroon t-shirt and yellow skirt. It took her three tries to get the tights right, without her leg feeling twisted in an unnatural way.

Before she got her shoes on, though, she flipped through the Watcher and checked the fashion section for the accessory of that month.

It might seem weird, but she enjoyed having her style fit the current fashion - Haruka gave her hair a few licks with the brush, readjusted the

hairpins and threw a thin jacket over, before getting her shoes on and rushing out of the door.

* * *

Habataki Station was huge and it was easy to get lost, if one didn't know where to go. And even if you did, it was easy to overlook something

due to the massive amount of people walking to and fro. Nervously, Haruka hastened her steps to the fountain. She was a bit late and didn't

want to keep Kijyou waiting. At the fountain, though, she couldn't find him. Maybe he was a bit late himself .. but before she could finish

that thought, he was already approaching her.

"Sorry, sorry." he apologized with a small grin. "Well, let's hurry to the tow-"

His cellphone began to ring and Kijyou quickly took it out of his pocket, he frowned when looking at the display. ".. 'Scuse me."

He turned slightly away after pressing the receive button.

"Why the bother?" he growled.

Haruka flinched. She had never heard Kijyou so angry .. his voice had deepened and, what little she saw of his face, was distorted into

a furious mask, a fierce glint in his eyes. She couldn't really hear what he was saying, but from the sound of it it was quite obviously a

fight with someone.

Thinking that it might take longer, Haruka sat down at the edge of the fountain and waited patiently. But she couldn't keep her eyes off of

Kijyou. Somehow seeing this side of him fascinated her, made her feel excited. Like an explorer having just found new land. She felt an urge

inside of her to spend more time with him, so as to see this side of him or any other side. She wanted to know everything about him ..

Shaking her head, she tried to ban such thoughts away. It was ridiculous. She was just being nervous about this being the second date,

in such short time.

"Give it up, pops!" Kijyou snarled and pressed 'End', tucking the phone away again. His eyes fell on Haruka, her looking rather interested at him,

standing up. "Sorry 'bout that .."

"It's okay." she said, hesitating a bit. ".. that was your father, right?"

Kijyou looked surprised, but nodded finally. "He keeps buggin' me .." he sighed deeply.

Feeling like she had just put her foot in her mouth, Haruka pointed at his maroon shirt. "Aren't you cold?"

"Nah." he said and grabbed her hand in a playful matter. "Let's forget it all and just get goin'."

Haruka nodded, but being extremely self-conscious about the hand, and followed him.

Holding hands felt weird. Not knowing if it was because she was so nervous or because she wasn't used to it, but her hand felt like it didn't

exist. Like her arm ended after the wrist. Yet, on the other hand, she was quite conscious about Kijyou's hand holding hers. It somehow

made her feel protected and safe. But she didn't dare to close her fingers around his .. just the thought of doing that made her flush.

Kijyou seemed to have no trouble with it, though.

He seemed fine holding her hand, waiting for the elevator to come, together with an elderly couple and a group of chatty girls.

She had to relax! If her face was as red as it felt hot, it must look weird - a couple, the guy absolutely okay and the girl stiff and straight,

seeming like she wanted to run out of the place.

Not that she really wanted to do that, she just wanted her heart to calm down and her thoughts to get straight again .. did she just

see herself and Kijyou as a couple?

Feeling flushed all over again, Haruka didn't notice her joining Kijyou in the elevator and walking to the railings to overlook Habataki.

* * *

"Haruka-chan?"

Kijyou bent down a little to look into Haruka's face.

She jumped a little bit, having been completely lost in her mind for the past few minutes.

"Somethin' wrong?" he asked, looking worried.

"N-no." she answered, trying to keep her voice from stuttering. "Nothing's wrong."

He didn't believe her, or just wanted to make sure, but the intensity he used to look at her made her feel slightly uncomfortable

and she could almost feel her face turning red. She had to hurry and think of something to distract him ..!

A second later, she threw out her arm and pointed to the eastern sky.

"Ah! Isn't that a UFO?" she asked in an excited voice, but still felt her heart beating as fast as it had for the past ten minutes.

"Ah, you're right!" Kijyou looked in the same direction and wildly lifted his arm, waving towards the spot. "Hello, UFO-san! Hope ya enjoy

enslaving humanity an' takin' over earth!"

Both knew entirely well that there had been nothing. But the way Kijyou had just played along, that big smile on his face and the way

he looked back at her .. had been so ..

Before Haruka could stop herself, she started to giggle until her whole body shook and she just laughed.

Luckily there was only one other person except them there now - and that person didn't bother about her laugh.

Kijyou showed her a wide grin. "Perfect!"

"W-what?" she asked, still giggling now and then. "What's perfect?"

"Ya laughing. I wanted to see ya laugh for some time now." he told her. "An' now I managed my mission."

Haruka looked at him in surprise and followed him, once again rather absently minded, back to the elevator and down.

On a mission to make her laugh .. that sounded like something Kijyou would get into his head. Seeing a girl laugh must be nice for a guy.

Especially if the girl was on a date at that moment.

"Ya're pretty quiet, Haruka-chan." Kijyou said, yanking her out of her thoughts once more.

"Ah, just thinking about upcoming sports festival." she replied. "And waiting for your birthday to roll around."

"Mh, then I'll look forward to it, too. Wonder what ya're planning." he suddenly swung his arm to a side, pulling her closer as they were

still holding hands. "An' will ya tell me yar birthdate?"

Startled, Haruka said the first thing she could think of. "Why not check my file in the school computer?"

"Cause I want ya to tell me directly." he grinned.

"August 1st .." she muttered, feeling like she was being thoughroughly inspected by Kijyou's gaze.

The talk became less, but more all-day stuff when they got back to Habataki Station. Back at the fountain, they had to go seperate

ways again and Haruka noticed how Kijyou squeezed her hand a bit before letting go.

"Was fun today." he told her. "We should hang out mor often."

Haruka nodded. "Say, Kijyou-kun." she hesitated for a second. "Now that you fulfilled the mission of seeing me laugh, you won't stop

going out with me, will you?"

Kijyou looked at her in surprise over her comment. "Course not! Ya wanna go out with me, I'll go out with ya. Why stop when it's fun?"

Haruka grinned and nodded again. "Thought so. See you in school!" she waved and started on her way home.

* * *

What a weird thing for her to ask. And not just because it was out of the blue.

But, somehow, the way Kijyou spoke of a 'mission', even if it had been a joke, made it seem like he was dating her out of an obligatory

reason. Now that he had finished his mission he'd disappear.

Ah, what was wrong with her today? Her thoughts were getting stranger and stranger by the minute. If she didn't get a hold of

herself soon, she'd have to write the day down as a do-over. Although .. the time spent with Kijyou had been great. Mostly she wasn't

sure what was going on as she had been too nervous. But the way he spontaniously grabbed her hand and hadn't let go until they

were going seperate ways .. just remembering it gave her that safe and protected feeling again.

Haruka stuck her keys into the keyhole and opened the door, stripping off her shoes.

"Sis? Are you there?" Tsukushi's blue eyes suddenly appeared underneath her eyes.

"Don't startle me like that!" she said.

"Sis .. do you even notice that you're drenched?"

Surprised, Haruka looked down at herself and, indeed, her clothes were clingy and dripping, her hair hung heavy in her neck. She looked

out and noticed the rain almost flooding down. "Um .. no." she coughed embarrassed and headed for the bathroom to take a hot shower.

A few minutes later the cream colored room was filled with steam, Haruka letting the water drum down on her, once again lost in

her own mind. How long had it been raining? She hadn't noticed anything. She could barely remember walking home at all. Her feet just

moving automatically towards the purple doored house.

Had Kijyou gotten home in time? She didn't know his address, Tsukushi hadn't written it down, so she didn't know how far he had to walk

to get back home. Maybe he had been drenched by the sudden cloudburst and was taking a shower himself just now .. Or he got home

before the rain started.

How come Kijyou didn't leave her mind for the entire day?

Quickly turning the hot knob, she felt the heat increasing, almost burning her skin. Anything to keep mind from focusing on him all the time.

* * *

"Ya can tell personality by the clothes?" Kijyou asked in an impressed voice.

Monday back to school and Kijyou had seeked her out during lunch, talking about the date and the newest information from the Watcher.

So, Haruka had, after mentioning how interested she was in fashion, let slip about that little ability of hers.

It wasn't that it was anything incredibly special. Actually, it had first been a hobby of hers to look at other peoples' clothes and see if

the way they wore the clothes, their bodylanguage spoke, if it could reveal anything about the personality. Just a few years ago she had

found traits that indeed showed part of the person's personality.

"So, waddya know 'bout me?"

Haruka looked up to him, slightly taken back. Asked for her opinion confused her for a moment. For a second her eyes wandered from

Kijyou's hair to his shoes and back. "Well, with the school uniform it doesn't tell me very much .." she dodged the answer.

"Yah, but tell me. Ya got me interested." he nudged her slightly, leaning against the greenish walls of the hallway.

"Well .. the choker you always wear around your neck shows that you're fashion conscious, you like to be a top of things like that.

The fact that you don't wear a tie means that you don't care of correct and standardized appearance. The unbuttoned shirt

shows that as well." she told him, blushing ever so slightly when mentioning his shirt.

"Ya're right 'bout that. Cool how ya can tell so easily."

"The clothes from the dates tell me more .." Haruka mumbled quietly.

"Ah, what did they tell ya?" Kijyou's voice held a grin inside it, without her having to look at him.

Haruka cleared her throat, something that had turned to a habit when she was embarrassed. "With the marron shirt and sandcolored pants,

I noticed that you know even more about fashion, then just what you read in magazines. You know what colors go together - and the bright

colors you wear show that you don't mind being noticed. You enjoy life to it's fullest. The beige jacket made you look older than you were,

making you look smarter and hinting that the older you get, the hotter you'll look." Haruka stuttered at the next part, realizing what she

had just said. "A-also, the fact that you tend to tuck your shirts in means that you're comfortable about your body and don't mind

showing off at times."

He looked down at her in surprise, his lips slightly parted. Both were quiet for a moment, Kijyou being rather awestruck, Haruka actually

still embarrassed about what she had told him. She coughed again.

"Cool." he finally said. "Finding out all that from the clothes. Ya gotta teach me. Or tell me 'bout ya."

Haruka blushed, trying to avoid his gaze. "W-well, speaking about my personality through my clothes gets more complicated .."

"Haruka!"

Natsumi rushed towards them and, when close enough, grabbed both of Haruka's hand tightly into hers.

"You have to do me a favor."

"Um, sure. If I can manage." Haruka stuttered, surprised at the sudden appearance.

"Well, actually, it's a question." Natsumi shrugged her shoulders about the wrong phrase. "You want to join the cheerleading squad?"

".. what?"

"Please join! We have enough members, but if more join, we'll get more after summer break. It's fun, I promise. And we only practice

a few times a week."

Haruka hesitated. "Well, I work on Wednesday and Fridays .."

"We practice tuesday and thursday. And every third sunday of the month. Come on, Haruka, it'll be fun! And if any of our sport clubs

manage to get to the preliminaries we get to ride along."

Her arguments weren't the best, but as long as the practice wouldn't interefere with her work .. and she had been thinking of joining

some clubs lately. "Sure, I'll join."

"Thanks, Haruka. Meet me in the gym after school, we'll get you signed up properly." Natsumi waved full of energy and wandered off again.

Haruka sighed lightly.

"Seems like we can't walk home together today." Kijyou said, ruffling up Haruka's hair a bit.

She leaned her head back to look at him. "Yeah, too bad. Take a rain check for next week?"

"Sure thing."

* * *

After the bell rang, Natsumi almost tackled Haruka when she left her classroom and dragged her to the gym.

The gym was huge, the linoleum on the floor kept quite clean and without any scratches or dents in them. A group of girls, all more or less

with curvy bodylines and long hair, and a tall woman with dark hair tied to a bun were waiting for them. The woman had a clipboard in her

hands and a whistle around her neck.

"Fujii-san, a newcomer?" she asked in an efficient voice that showed it was her usual voice.

"Yes, Haruka. She wants to join." Natsumi gave Haruka a smack on the back to get her to stand out a bit more.

"Sekai Haruka. I'd like to join the cheerleading squad." Haruka said, feeling a bit intimidated with the attention focusing on her.

"Nice to hear that. We practice on Tuesday and Thursday every other week. And there's always a mandatory appearance at the meeting

every third Sunday of the month. The sportsgames are held on those days."

Haruka nodded, listening to the information. She got her uniform and pom-poms, a last reminder about the third sunday meetings and

they were free to go.

"Hey, Haruka, want to stop by a café? Chat a bit about love, life and boys?" Natsumi asked. "There's a nice one down the road."

Eager to learn more about the surroundings, Haruka agreed and followed Natsumi down the road, turning into a small side street.

The café was small, filled with a bar in the middle curved into a U. Dozens of round tables were scattered around the floor, usually

with two chairs on each side. The windows were large, but the lower third had half-transparent wallpaper glued to it, so the visitors

weren't that visible from outside. Natsumi and Haruka sat down at one table and ordered coffee.

"So, Haruka. What were you talking with Kijyou about?" Natsumi asked eagerly.

"Mh? Ah, um .. personality deduction, I guess .." Haruka stuttered, not sure how to explain.

"Huh?"

"Um .. figuring out his personality .." she seemed to be making a horrible job of explaining. ".. by the clothes he wears."

The two coffee came and after a few sips, Natsumi leaned over.

"So what did you find out about him? And what can you tell me about myself?"

"Well, Kijyou-kun's a fun guy .." Haruka tried to forget what she had said in a moment of weakness. "And I don't know that much

about Natsumi-chan. I never saw you in anything except your uniform."

Natsumi sipped her coffee, listening.

"But I do know that Natsumi-chan is a happy person, full of life and very open. You're energetic and make friends easily."

"You can tell that from my uniform?"

"No, from the way you talk to me and other people." Haruka told her, finishing her coffee.

Natsumi studied her a few moments longer. "By the way, you've started dating, haven't you?" she asked with a grin.

"H- .. how can you tell?"

"Mmmh, there's just a happy and satisfied glint in your eyes. Like you did something new and you found it to be fun."

Haruka blushed and nodded shyly. "Well, not a lot .. I mean, just two times up to now."

"But you want to date more often, right?"

"I-I wouldn't say it like that. I mean, the time spent is nice and I enjoy it, but more often? I don't know .."

Natsumi laughed. "A shy flower like you is hard to find!"

Haruka wasn't sure if it was a compliment or not.

* * *

June had started and everyone was getting ready for the sports festival the next Saturday.

Actually, the days seem to fast forward. One day, excessive 100 meter dashes during gym, and the next moment

it was Saturday, and the first two classes were doing the official 100 meter dashes already.

Nervous, Haruka stood on the sidelines, waiting for her class to be called forwards.

Soon enough she was called forwards and she took her position at the starting line.

The whistle blew and she started off, running as fast as she could towards the finishing line.

The last few meters, one of her classmates was gaining up, but by a split second, Haruka broke the finishing line first.

Out of breath, she stooped down and took deep breaths.

"Yo, here we see the future gold medalist winner of the olympic games."

Haruka looked up and saw Kijyou, grinning down at her.

"Congrats on winning first place." he told her.

"Ah, thank you. I wasn't sure I was going to make it." she confessed. She watched as he kneeled down and started to

stretch his legs, warming up. True, his class was going to be called up next. "Good luck for the race."

"Oh, thanks. Let's see if I'll join ya on the medalist pedestal." he replied, still going on about the olympic games.

* * *

I'll stop here. This chapter was supposed to be about Kijyou's birthday, actually. And it would've been the

next paragraph, but it seemed like it was just squeezed in. So it'll be in the next chapter.

This chapter actually made .. quite a turn! Haruka's feelings are going haywire and that sudden depressive moment

about Kijyou's mission were written at 3:30 AM. I tend to get rather fluffy and down at that time.

But it's rather helpful with love stories - despite this supposed to be more comedy than romance. At least most of

the time.


	4. Summer, Fireworks and You

And the next chapter!

This time really with Kijyou's birthday.

I'll try to not get such sad or fluffy chapters out anymore, unless the spot is really made for it.

* * *

With the sports festival over, things at school turned back their normal routine and seemed careless.

The weather was growing warmer than before, the coldspell having completely disappeared, and everyone started to

look forward to summer break, despite it still being almost a month away.

On one Thursday, though, Haruka was especially excited during lessons, not concentrating at all. She was listening for the

bell to ring, so she could achieve the goal she had set herself for the day. Finally, lessons were over and the bell rang for

lunch break. Rushing out of her classroom, she almost bumped into Kijyou in the hall.

"Ya okay, Haruka-chan?" he asked.

"I was looking for you!" Haruka said and handed him the small, blue wrapped present. "Happy birthday!"

"Yah, I was kinda excited about this." he said. "Okay if I open it?"

Haruka nodded, trying to surpress an excited giggle. Kijyou carefully unwrapped the gift while the halls slowly emptied

and saw the tea cup lying on the correct padding.

"Ah, ya knew exactly what I like! .. Are ya an Esper?" he asked in a fascinated way. "Thanks a lot. I'll treasure it!"

Aside from some smalltalk, they couldn't spend lunch break together, as the coach of the cheerleading squad had ordered

a sudden meeting. Actually, she was just telling them about the club camp. The second week in august, they'd go to a camp

to do intensive practice for a week. The coach went over the general rules and reminded them that the basketball game against

Hanegasaki High was to be held on the sunday after that. And the cheerleaders had to be present for that.

With lunch break over, Haruka returned to her class and sat in her usual seat. Himuro-sensei was already at the blackboard,

writing several dates before he placed the chalk away and turned the class, pushing his glasses up in a menancing way.

"This trimester's tests will be held from July 4th to July 10th, covering everything you've learned up to now. For the next three

weeks will revise mostly, so I expect to see some good results." he told them, piercing everyone with his eyes.

In the back, Haruka twitched furiously.

She hadn't studied lately. Or even paid attention in class. Somehow, ever since she went on a date with Kijyou her mind has

been going a completely different way - a way that was far away from school.

He sure looked happy about the gift .. No, she had to concentrate! Focusing her gaze to the front of the class, she did her

best to listen to Himuro's explanation.

* * *

Ahh .. her head was pounding!

After hours of intensive revision, they were having Homeroom now and Himuro was telling them some last minute details about the tests.

"Sekai."

Haruka looked up. "Yes?"

"I want to see you this sunday at 9:30 AM in front of the planetarium." he told her.

Confused, Haruka nodded automatically and already made a mental note.

Himuro left the classroom, the other students getting up, packing their stuff and leaving as well.

She was already on her way home, knowing that she'd take some medicine against her headache as soon as she closed the door.

"Haruka-chan!" Kijyou caught up to her, patting his arm onto her shoulder to get her attention.

"Kijyou-kun."

"Ya're on yar way home, righ'?" he asked. "Wanna go do something together?"

"Mh .. sure, why not chat in a café?" she replied, gladly suffering from a headache longer for Kijyou's sake.

"Alrigh', let's go."

They went to the café Haruka had visited with Natsumi a few weeks ago, sitting at almost the same table.

Somehow, sitting with a guy in the café felt different than being there with a girl - understandibly, but the uneasiness that Haruka

was almost expecting to come was much smaller than she thought. It felt like a tiny wave of discomfort in her stomach, but it

soon stopped ..

"Haruka-chan, ya free on sunday? Thought we could spend some time at Karaoke. Sing ourselves hoarse."

"Ah, I'm really sorry .." she started. "Himuro-sensei already made an arrangement with me .."

"Hah? Sensei?"

"At 9:30 in front of the planetarium .."

"Himuro's meetin' ya. On a sunday." Kijyou listed.

"Correct."

"He asked ya out on a date? Fac'lty ain't supposed to date students!" he almost yelled.

"Shh ..!" Haruka tried to calm him down, getting red at the prospect of a date with her teacher. "It's not a date. I think he's going

to do an extra study lesson. My grades are slipping .."

"Study lesson, huh .."

Kijyou calmed down and they talked a bit longer.

"Say, Kijyou-kun."

"Mhm?"

"Any special programmes you like to watch?" Haruka asked freely, secretly having that wish to know everything about him again.

"Hmm .. I like watching variety. Some dramas .." Kijyou listed, sipping his coffee. "And F1 and bike races. But those are often on

so late I oversleep the next day .."

"Bike races? Like the preliminaries last friday?" she asked excitedly. "I stuck in front of the TV for hours - and Matsuda won!"

Realizing that both were interested in the bike races and having at least one of the bikers as a favorite, they spent almost

an hour talking about their favorite races they had seen.

* * *

The headache had lifted itself when Haruka left the café, but back at home the pile of revisions and new homework were ready

to impact her. Strangely, though, she sat for hours at her desk, doing her homework rather halfheartedly, and finally ended up

deciding, subconsciously, to remember the chat in the café. Anything related to Kijyou was more fun than schoolwork.

Both of them interested in the same things made conversations between them easier. Actually, they hardly ever ran out of things

to talk about.

Midnight rolled around pretty fast and Haruka noticed that she had hardly done anything the past few hours, schoolwise ..!

Kijyou had occupied her mind the entire time and she figured that she couldn't do anything today anymore, so she decided to

go to bed. However, she couldn't sleep for an hour or two, reliving how Kijyou had asked her out in the café. Turning him down

had made her feel bad .. she should've suggested to delay the date by a week .. Or maybe, if she got up the courage,

she could invite _him_ out to a different spot. Getting up and grabbing the Watcher, she turned the light on her bedside table on

and flipped through to the event pages. Karaoke sounded fun, but somehow she didn't want to go there just yet .. she wanted

something that was a little bit special .. Her eyes fell onto the news for august and she gasped in delight.

A fireworks festival! She quickly read the short comment about it - held annually on the first sunday in august, it was very

popular and at the beach, with several stands built up for one day.

It sounded perfect! Sure, she would have to get herself a new Yukata - her old one was too tight - but it was a special event,

it was bound to become a good memory and watching fireworks together might be rather romantic ..

She _really_ needed to go to sleep now ..!

* * *

The next few weeks were filled with revisions, revisions and revisions, keeping the students' noses pressed to the books,

learning formulas and equations until they could almost do them in their sleep. Finally, the week of the tests arrived and for the next

five days, four hours each test, they wrote and wrote, solved equations or translated old chinese sentences to modern japanese.

On Saturday, the results were hung out and students crowded around, checking their grades and cheering or moaning, depending

on how well or not they cut.

Haruka looked her name up, but first saw the name on the thirtieth place. Hazuki Kei.

"Hazuki-kun?" she asked him, standing close to her.

"Yes?"

"How come you've got 0 points in math?"

"Yes .." he mumbled. "I slept." He said it with a small smile and left to get some lunch.

Interesting, the superstar of the school, sleeping through an entire test .. Someone patted her back and Haruka turned around,

seeing Kijyou grin widely at her.

"Haruka-chan, we're gonna be remedial buddies." he told her and pointed to the results. Haruka finally concentrated on her own name,

listed on number 245 of 400. She had failed math, history and just barely failed translation, too. Madoka was only 5 steps lower.

"Aah .." Haruka sighed, feeling a bit sad. All the cramming in school had helped, but as soon as she got home she seemed to forget

most of it again.

"It's not so bad, Haruka-chan. Come on, let's eat." he slapped her back in a playful matter and left his hand on her shoulder, as the two

of them left the building to eat outside again.

Out on the grounds, they sat on a sunny spot in the grass and didn't talk very much. Both were rather exhausted from the tests.

"Studying is bad for my health." Haruka said in a half-joking way. "Well, not that I studied much .."

"Why study, anyway?" Kijyou asked. "Ya could spend yar time with more fun things to do."

Haruka giggled and quietly agreed with him. Studying wasn't much fun.

"Say, Haruka-chan, could ya do me a favor and taste this?" Kijyou asked her, holding towards her a small bowl filled with fried rice.

Surprised, Haruka took the chopsticks he offered her and tasted the fried rice. The rice must've been infused with vanilla, it had

lost any sort of dry taste. She tasted more than a handful of spices, but they were well-balanced, and the thinly sliced onions

were a nice crunchy, fresh taste.

"It tastes pretty good." she told him. "Why, anything wrong with it?"

"Dunno, it tastes different than it should .."

"What's it supposed to taste like?"

"Spicey, but so it won't burn the roof of ya mouth .." he listed, slightly lost in his thoughts. "Like a double hit of taste at first .."

"That's how it tastes like." Haruka said and, without thinking, held some more of the rice between the chopsticks and fed it to him.

Silently, Kijyou ate, but he frowned. "Hmm .. it still has that strange aftertaste .. not like last time. I musta failed .."

"Kijyou-kun made this?" she asked in a surprised tone.

"Yep. I cook a lot, kind of a hobby of mine. Maybe I put in too much tumeric .."

Haruka looked at him with admiration. He cooked. A lot. Admittingly, she cooked a lot, too, but she didn't know a big variety of dishes

and she usually didn't put too many spices in it. There had been a time where she put loads of spices in .. and it resulted that the food

had become inedible due to the flavor being too strong .. and was it her imagination or was Kijyou ever so slightly blushing?

Surely not. There wasn't really any reason to.

They both continued their lunch, giving of an air of relieve that the tests were over and soon enough, summer vacation would roll their

way, filled with loads of sunshine and time to do various things. Almost finished with her lunch, Haruka suddenly thought that the mood

was just right to ask Kijyou out. She could tell that he was in a good mood and since he seemed to enjoy fun and exciting places,

he'd surely agree to watch the fireworks with her.

"Hey, Ki-"

"Haruka ..!"

Both looked into the direction of the voice and saw Natsumi waving at them. "Haruka, cheerleaders are meeting up!"

Haruka nodded and waved, to signal that she was coming, and got up, patting any stray grass seeds off her uniform.

She had almost forgot about the second-to-last meeting before camp and knew she had to hurry or she would get into trouble with the

coach, who was a woman you don't screw around with.

"See you later, Kijyou-kun." she said hastily, running over to Natsumi.

* * *

Sunday Haruka woke up slowly, feeling drained and more tired than before. The tests had been murder and she was only in the first year ..!

But knowing what really dragged her down, she stumbled out of bed and into the bathroom to brush her teeth. Once she changed out of her

pyjamas and into her sweatsuit, Haruka relived yesterday a bit. Eating lunch with Kijyou had been great and it seemed to be slowly starting

to become a habit of theirs. Actually, it had surprised her that he cooked. Then again, if she remembered Tsukushi's notes correctly, he

was living on his own ..

It had been too bad that she couldn't ask him out during lunch. But such things happened and they often happened at the most inappropriate

times, so being bummed about it wouldn't make things better. With a sigh, Haruka started to clean up the clothes she had worn during the past

few weeks, patting any dirt off her uniform or checking the pockets. Suddenly, feeling something in one of the pockets, Haruka pulled out

a small, folded piece of paper. Throwing the clothes into the washing machine and unfolding the paper, she saw telephone number written on it.

Quite obviously, this was Kijyou's number. But when had he given that to her? He must've snuck it into her pocket during their last date.

She had been absent-minded enough to not notice something like that. The next moment she remembered that she actually already had his

number, Tsukushi had found it out.

Rushing back to her room and grabbing the phone, she hesitated.

The thought of calling Kijyou made her feel nervous, she could feel her legs becoming weak and had to sit down onto a chair. Her whole body started

to shiver, she could barely keep hold onto the phone. Taking a deep breath, Haruka held it for a moment and exhaled, pressing in Kijyou's number

before she could change her mind again. Slightly excited, she held the phone to her ear, listening to the low tone being repeated a few times.

"Yes, this is Kijyou." he answered in a slightly drawling voice.

"A-ah .. Kijyou .. -kun?" Haruka said, her voice stuttering as much as her body was shivering. "D-did I wake you?"

"Nah, not at all .." he still sounded rather slow, though. "Watcha callin' for? Ah, I know. Ya wanna date, right?"

Haruka gave a small yelp which almost caused her to drop the phone.

"Um .. well, yeah." she coughed, trying to steady her voice. "I .. I wanted to ask if you'd like to go to the fireworks festival with me. It's on

August 4th."

The last bit came out rather fast and she wondered if he had understood her all that well, she couldn't really.

"Yah, sure. It'll be fun. Meet ya at 6 PM at the Station?" Kijyou asked, the grin quite noticable in his voice. "The fireworks don't start till 7,

we could walk along the stands an' all."

"Um .. well, sure. I'll look forward to it!" Haruka hung up and sighed deeply.

That hadn't .. gone so bad. She had been incredibly anxious and she still hadn't calmed down, but somehow the endorphines were kicking in

and she felt like she wanted to jump up and down, squealing like a small girl. But she had to calm down ..!

Remembering the issue about the yukata, though, she quickly changed into some different pants and ran off to the shopping district.

* * *

Hours later, she still hadn't bought a new yukata.

Not, that she couldn't find any, but she passed several accessory shops and retracked to them, looking at new earrings or clip-ons,

scrunchies and hair needles. Her weakness for pretty accessories was always her downfall ..

Determined, Haruka went into Jess' shop and walked to the section which had been especially cleared to have yukatas-only for this season.

She flipped through several racks, mostly finding pink or yellow patterened yukata, but she had learned that, with her haircolor, pink wasn't

a good choice. And her last yukata was yellow and this time she wanted something different.

It took her an hour and a half to choose an emerald colored yukata with leaves painted in white on the sleeves. What made her especially

happy was that the yukata fitted the hair needle she had bought earlier on.

Happy about her purchases, and amazed that - even for her standards - this shopping trip had taken so long, Haruka walked around town

a bit longer, taking in the scenery and getting to know more about the city.

"Oh, Haruka-chan?"

Haruka saw Kijyou. He looked rather hot and out of breath, coming out of the game center.

"Jo, Kijyou-kun. Eh .. sorry about the phone call .." she mumbled.

"Mh? Was somethin' wrong 'bout the call?" he grinned, leaving it be. "Guess what? I just cleared the entire list on the DDR machine."

"Eh? Cool, Kijyou-kun must be good." Haruka admired that. "Say, I'm interested in DDR myself, but I'm no good .. I bought the home version

a while ago, but can't figure a few things out .." She couldn't think of a way to express her request.

"Want me to give ya a few pointers?" Kijyou asked blatantly and Haruka nodded. "Sure, no problem. I could drop by sometime an' help ya."

"Thank you, Kijyou-kun."

* * *

A few days later, the doorbell rang.

"Keep cleaning." Haruka told Tsukushi in a menancing voice, the kitchen starting to sparkle over their scrubbing and polishing

and drying off. Tsukushi sighed and turned his attention back to the preparation surfaces.

Haruka, meanwhile, tapped out into the hallway and opened the door. Kijyou was standing there, grinning widely.

"Kijyou-kun!" she opened the door wider and let him in.

Suddenly, she realized that she was wearing a bandana, an old shirt with several stains on it and thick jogging pants.

"Waah, Kijyou-kun!" she yelled and disappeared in a flash into her room.

Kijyou stared confused and Tsukushi leaned out of the kitchen, wondering what had gotten into her suddenly.

A few moments later, Haruka re-appeared in a white-black mini dress and hissed at Tsukushi to return to the kitchen.

"No need to change for me." Kijyou grinned, amused by her sudden embarrassment.

"I get nervous when a guy visits me .." she mumbled.

"Anyway .. Pan-Papa-Pan!" he handed her a slightly long box in yellow wrapping paper. "Happy Birthday!"

".. Ah, you remembered my birthday!" Haruka gasped, taking the present. "Thank you!"

"Alrigh', that gave me plus-points ..!"

"What?"

"Oh, nothin'." Kijyou waved it off. "Hope ya still have a nice birthday. See ya for the fireworks."

He waved again and left, leaving Haruka to open the present. Inside was an antique radio with barely noticable scratches on the sides.

Smiling about the present, she placed it onto the dresser in her room. It was the first present she ever got from a guy her own age.

* * *

Haruka adjusted the needle in her hair one last time and looked around in expectation.

Habataki Station was filled again, even more than usually due to the fireworks festival, and she hadn't seen Kijyou yet.

Then again, she had been so excited, she had been an hour early at their meeting place. Time had passed now, though,

and six was just a few moments away. A hand tapped her shoulder and Haruka turned around, seeing Kijyou behind her.

"Jo, Haruka-chan." he said, wearing a black-golden yukata.

"J-jo .." she stuttered, realizing that his yukata was loosely tied, revealing more than any of the other clothes she had seen him in.

And due to the height difference she instantly had a good view of his chest.

"Haruka-chan, the yukata suits ya really well."

She blushed, feeling warm all over her body. "Y-you mean it?"

"_Aho_. Of course I do." Kijyou told her. "Come on, let's hit the stands."

The two of them made their way down to the beach, walking slowly through the crowd and talking about last night's motorcycle race.

Trying to catch goldfish and popping ballons with darts passed the time until the fireworks started.

"Sh" Kijyou tapped Haruka's shoulder and gave her to understand to follow him.

She obediently followed him, walking past couples and families, backing up against the wall a bit. Trying to catch up with him a bit,

she didn't watch her step and slipped on the sand, knocking into Kijyou in front of her.

"Ah, sorry." he said, stretching his arm back a bit to stabilize her. "Walking too fast for ya?"

"No, no." Haruka caught her balance again. "I'm not used to walking in geta."

Kijyou stopped then and pointed towards the sky where the first few fireworks were just being shot.

Haruka realized quickly why he had brought her here, the spot was quiet and they were the only ones there. But most amazing was

the view they had on the fireworks, without any obstacle or the noise of the other spectators around them. At one point during the

fireworks, Kijyou looked down at Haruka and smiled, casually putting his hand onto her head and ruffling up her hair a bit.

She didn't tell him, but it felt nice. Almost good, the way he messed up her hair. She flushed a little bit at the sensation.

The fireworks finished with a glorious finale, so many different shapes appearing at once that it seemed to light up the sky,

watching the last sparks fall and disappear in the dark night. Slightly disappointed that it was already over, Haruka and Kijyou made their

way back to the main part and to the crowd.

"They were really pretty .." Haruka muttered quietly.

"Oh, sure were." Kijyou agreed. "We should watch 'em next year again."

Thinking that it was a pre-set date for the next year, she nodded.

"It's really late .. I'll walk ya home."

"Eh? Ah, you don't need to do that." she waved her hands dismissively.

"But I want to." Kijyou looked at her with a superior sense. "My manners forbid me from lettin' a lady walk home alone at night."

Haruka blushed slightly at his words and nodded, walking towards the boardwalk with him. Once again she didn't really watch out

and tripped when the ground changed from sand to wood. Before anything could really happen, though, Kijyou grabbed her hand

which made her keep her balance.

"Oh? I'd better hold ya hand so ya don't fall anymore." he grinned at her, squeezing her hand slightly.

She mumbled something inaudible and slightly led the way towards her home, keeping her gaze mostly on the ground.

They were quiet for a while, walking past dark or dimly lit houses until they got to the house with the purple door.

"Say, Kijyou-kun," she turned her head towards him and smiled slightly. "When did you sneak your phone number to me?"

"Ah, ya didn't notice? Remember how I pulled ya close when asking yar birthdate?" he asked back, grinning at the memory.

Haruka nodded with a faint blush, she had been so nervous she hadn't noticed anything.

"I was surprised when I found it .." she grinned at her next sentence. "Did you give it to me just so I'd call you and you'd

get my phone number that way?"

"Why, no, whatever gave ya that idea!" both laughed for a bit until they remembered the time and quieted down. "But I did

write yar number down."

The last few meters they were quiet, the silent of the night making things slightly awkward for Haruka.

"Um .. thanks for walking me home." the girl mumbled slightly embarrassed.

"Watcha talkin' about?" Kijyou asked with a grin. "Something like this is no big deal. See ya around."

Haruka waved and watched Kijyou leave until he blended into the dark with his Yukata. She opened the door with her keys then

and sighed deeply when she closed it after herself.

She carefully went into her room, so as to not wake Tsukushi, and changed into her pyjamas. Watching the fireworks with Kijyou

had been fun and she wondered if they'd go to the same spot to see them alone next year or if other people would find it.

Heh, it felt rather strange to know that she had a date a year in advance.

Haruka slid underneath the thin blanket and lay her head onto the pillow.

She was sure to have good dreams tonight ..

* * *

Finally, the fourth chapter is up!

Stuck awhile with the fireworks, but got over it.

Ideas for the next chapter's storyboard are already forming and I keep getting new situations in my head to put those two into.

To warn you, in the later years things might be a little not-so-untouchy.

Just things you'd expect with two teenagers .. but nothing drastic!


	5. At the Park

I just noticed recently - this story was published on White Day!  
Also, maybe you don't know - I kept Aho in, because it's a different term for idiot,  
and I wasn't quite sure how to translate it. And I prefer the way Kijyou says it, anyway.  
Aho~

* * *

The phone rang, again and again.

Footsteps approached the desk and a small hand grabbed the phone. "Yes, Sekai Residence."

".. Haruka-chan is not ya?" the voice asked, sounding confused.

"Ah, Kijyou-nii." Tsukushi replied, grinning. "No, my sister isn't here."

"Ah .. where is she?"

"Club Clamp. Didn't she tell you?"

"Mh, I don't think so .." Kijyou said, trying to remember if Haruka had mentioned anything. "Know when she'll be back?"

Tsukushi walked down the hall and checked the calender where several things were written in and saw his sister's slightly flourishing

handwriting on the current week. "Back on the 17th, but she has a sportsgame on that sunday then. So no date can do."

Kijyou coughed slightly, wondering if Tsukushi was psychic.

"Anyway, thanks for tellin' me." he said and hung up.

* * *

Meanwhile, at camp, Haruka followed the other girls in a steady jog around the large grounds and hardly listened to the stern,

encouraging words the manager was saying. The past few days had consisted mostly of jogging, stretching excercises and

rehearsing new routines for cheering their specific sports teams during the games.

A good thing to do to keep in shape and exercise enough, but Haruka was starting to find it a bore. She didn't mind the

exercise, she was pleased to see slight improvement in her muscles and weight, but it was boring, nonetheless.

"Haruka, wait up." a hand closed itself over her arm and she got to an abrupt stop.

Natsumi grinned at her. "Where are you with your thoughts?" Haruka then noticed that the other girls were a bit behind them,

the jogging already finished. The two of them went back to the group, breathing heavily. The day was hot, expected from

August, but it didn't stop them from training. And since they had a break just then, all the girls went to the nearby lake on

the grounds and cooling their legs in the water.

"What were you thinking about, anyway?" Natsumi asked, leaning back and crossed her arms behind her head.

Haruka imitated her a bit, trying to sort her thoughts again. "I'm sort of looking forward to going back home. I mean,

cheerleading is fun and all .. but not in this hot weather!"

Natsumi laughed and agreed with a nod. "But isn't there a better reason for you to go home?"

"Eh?"

"You know. You can date him again." she grinned a bit at Haruka's surprised expression. "Well, why not? Nothing better

to do during vacation. Especially the beach .. wonder if Hazuki likes the beach?"

"Hazuki?"

Haruka sat up, with her mouth hanging open, and blushed even more when all the other girls looked at her. She quickly

lay down again. "I'm not dating Hazuki-kun. What made you think that?"

"Not?" Natsumi turned over onto her stomach. "Seemed likely - I mean, you were pretty curious when you met him."

The redhead thought about that and noticed that it was true. When she first met Hazuki, he had an impression on her.

She wanted to know more about him, but soon after she seemed to focus more on Kijyou. Although she wasn't sure

how she could explain that.

"Ah, well .. I'm not dating him." she finally said, trying to keep her face from reddening even more.

"Hmm, well whoever it is, you should definitely go to the beach with him."

"Can't."

"Why not?" Natsumi asked.

"None of my suits fit anymore." Haruka explained. "Actually, hardly anything fits anymore. Got a growth spurt last year."

Natsumi poked Haruka's sides and breasts. "Got more there, huh? Or gained too much weight?"

While Haruka flinched and giggled, trying to scoot away from Natsumi, the other kept poking her in a joking matter.

"Well, how about we go shopping?" the tickler said, once she stopped.

Haruka looked at her, getting up and patting herself off. Their coach was calling them back for another routine practice.

"You know. You. Me. Go shopping for a bikini. How about before the game?" Natsumi suggested. "I know a really good shop,

awesome collection and good price."

The redhead giggled and nodded. "Sure. As long as we get to the game in time - imagine what the coach will do, if we aren't."

And the two joined the rest of the group, laughing about the potential scaryness of their leader.

* * *

Late on Saturday, the doorbell rang.

Tsukushi was already answering it, wondering slightly who might be paying a visit so late.

In the kitchen, Haruka was treating herself to some mikado and leafing through a magazine after her bath and before going to bed.

Engrossed, she didn't really care for the bell until Tsukushi entered the kitchen.

"Sis, it's for you." he said and went to his room. Haruka got up and tied her bathrobe tighter, going into the hallway.

Her surprise was so big that she almost dashed into her room to change, Kijyou just smiled and held up his hand as a hello.

"Jo. Glad ya're back." he said, looking quite good in a thin, beige shirt with long sleeves and jeans.

Wether it was the contrast between his tanned skin and the light shirt or that she hadn't seen him for a while,

she felt rather shy and awkward right away. And she had done so well with remaining calm around him before ..!

"Jo. What is it?" she asked, fumbling a string of her still damp hair. "A tad late for a visit .."

"Askin' ya out on a date, of course!" Kijyou grinned. "It's summer, vacation time - plenty of dates!"

Haruka felt a blush creeping up her cheeks and she tried to control it.

"Well .." she mumbled. "Couldn't you have just called for a date? I mean, .. coming here extra for asking-"

His hands cupped her face and lifted it so she looked right into his eyes, noticing for the first time what a bright hazel they were.

"Come on." he said with a straight face. "Like I'm the only one happy ya're back."

Haruka's face almost exploded from redness, it felt like she had a fever. Did that mean he had missed her?

That he might like her in the fashion you'd like a girlfriend?

But before she could think up a good reason, she noticed a slight grin hovering over his lips and she brushed his hands off

in a kidding fashion, although with slight regret. "Stop joking around, Kijyou-kun. Anyway .. date."

Inspired by Natsumi, she did sort of wanted to go swimming at the beach with him. But she didn't want to set a date yet,

as she wasn't sure if she'd find a nice suit at the shop ..

"How 'bout the Amusement Park?" Kijyou asked her. "Spend the day there and watch the Night Parade."

Haruka looked at him surprised. "Night Parade? Sure! I've never seen it, but I heard it's great!"

"Alrigh'. Since ya're busy on sunday, why not go on Tuesday?"

She agreed and after a few pleasant words, Kijyou was back on his way home.

* * *

"Iyo~"

Surprised, Haruka stared at Natsumi on the sidewalk, a few steps ahead of her. They had agreed to meet at the playground,

the middlepoint between the shopping district and the school where the game was being held. But here Natsumi was,

in the blue cheerleading uniform, about a street or two away from her friend's house. Haruka was wearing her uniform, too,

as it would save time if they took too long for shopping.

"Hey. You surprised me." Haruka finally said and skipped a bit to walk next to her.

"Well, does it matter where we met?" Natsumi answered and lead the way. "Anyway, I think you'll like this shop. It's not that

widely known, but their collection is wonderful. All sorts of styles, colors, designs. Ah, it's like heaven ..!"

All the way, Natsumi praised the shop.

When they got there, they looked rather horrified at the notices in the windows.

"They're closing?" Natsumi stared in shock. "I can't believe it ..!"

"Well, that happens sometimes .." Haruka tried to console her a bit, not sure if she was doing a good job at it.

Inside, Haruka could see why this shop was popular with the few people that knew it. It was wide and open, the big windows

and light wooden floor making it look even bigger. A few small steps led up to the changing cubicles and posters with models

wearing the current fashions hanging on the white walls.

Natsumi pulled Haruka to the right up some steps to a small alcove which held all the bathing suits. Haruka felt like she was

pulled into a rainbow. One pieces and bikinis of almost every color were on racks to her left and right or hung next to

the walls. Pink and various shades of blue seemed to be the most used colors for swimming wear.

Natsumi and Haruka spent the first fifteen minutes looking around all the racks, checking what there was, and another

fifteen minutes to agree or discuss that in no way would they buy a pink bathing suit - it would clash too much with Haruka's

hair and Natsumi didn't like pink very much, anyway.

An hour went by pretty quickly.

Starring at the white bikini Natsumi was holding up, Haruka felt uncomfortable. The white was spangled with some sparkles,

the top was cut into a halter top with small triangles to cover the breasts and the bottom tied together on both sides.

"Umm ... no." she finally said, looking almost shamefully at the floor for the thought of wearing that thing.

"Why not?" Natsumi asked with a grin.

"It's .. it's too little .."

Natsumi nudged her sides a bit, still grinning. "Oh, come on. Guys love to see some skin!"

The redhead nodded. She knew that, but the thought of wearing that bikini - perhaps on a date with Kijyou - made her

blush furiously. It also made her feel rather uncomfortable.

"Well, maybe .. maybe not, well .. not _that_ .."

Natsumi seemed to understand and put the bikini back, looking for one that wasn't made of such little amount of material.

A strapless one piece seemed nice. It was a bronze color and came with a pareo with a feathery design imprinted on it,

but Haruka didn't like bronze or brown bathing suits. It never seemed like a good color on anybody.

Several other bikinis - blue ones, yellow ones and black ones - were not taken, most of the one pieces were too boring.

It was easy to reject one, but after a while, Haruka chose a one piece suit in navyblue. It was cut out around the stomach

and a halter top was the only thing to hold it up, as the back was cut low.

Natsumi tried to argue that it wasn't sexy enough, but knew that the descision was made.

A few minutes later they had paid for the bathing suits each of them had bought, as well as some cheap tanktops.

Despite the bathing suits having taken so long, they still had enough time to get to school before the game would start.

Once there, they quickly prepared themselves to cheer and do their routine when their team scored. Before the game, though,

they talked among themselves about this and that. They lost track of time and only remembered that the game was about

to start, when their manager gave each of the girls a soft smack on the back of their heads.

* * *

They won the game by a close fit.

Hanegasaki High had played really well, but they couldn't beat Habataki. The results were really close, though.

Haruka went home, glad that the cheering was done and she could relax now. The excitement when your team scores a point,

the fans cheering along with the cheerleaders was fun, but still a terrible bore. Once the new term would start, she'd probably

leave the squad. Maybe look for a different extracurricular.

It was tuesday and Kijyou was waiting at the bus stop.

There was a small group at the bus station, all waiting for the bus to take them to the amusement park.

But there was no sign of Haruka.

He looked around, checking if she was close by, but he didn't see her. Wondering if he should call her, Kijyou saw the bus

turning the corner and approaching the stop. One bus later or not wouldn't matter much, he thought to himself.

"Safe ..!"

Something knocked into his back and two arms wrapped themselves around his chest, as if he was used as a stop.

As sudden as the arms appeared, they disappeared again and Kijyou turned around to see Haruka leaning her arms heavily

onto her knees, panting.

"Sorry ..!" she gasped. "Overslept. But I still made it ..!"

On her feet were inliner-sneakers, explaining how she had made it in time and why she sort of knocked into him.

"Ah, it's okay. Oh?" Kijyou studied her a bit. "Today in shorts?"

"Huh? Yeah .." Haruka ran a hand through her hair, having regained her breath, and felt a bit selfconcious about the pale yellow

tanktop and black shorts.

Both got onto the bus quickly, though, as it was about to leave. The bus was a bit crowded, as usual - the amusement park

was popular, after all - and there was only standing room left. Actually, the crowd wasn't as big as it would be on sundays

during schooltime, but it was still hard to move around.

The bus stopped at the next station, some people got on or off, but there was a bit more room to breathe now and a group

of teenagers towards the back of the bus were talking loudly about what attractions they'd ride in the park.

Haruka flinched slightly when, for the second time, something brushed against her butt for a moment. Before she registered it,

though, it stopped again. Not paying anymore attention to it, she returned to her thoughts what the night parade might

be like.

For a third time, though, it happened again. And this time, it wasn't something just brushing against it, it was definitely a hand.

Shellshocked for a moment, Haruka wondered wether or not it might be Kijyou. A side-glance at him, though, proved that he

was holding on with one hand, the other one hanging loosely on his side. All he did was stand next to her and look good in his

white-blue shirt and jeans .. but that wasn't important now ..!

The strange hand stroked her butt a bit.

Haruka felt a queasy feeling in her stomach, like she was going to be sick, and she started to shake.

Almost like an instinct, she grabbed Kijyou's hand and squeezed it a bit. It somehow felt nice, it gave her that protective

feeling again. And when Kijyou looked down at their now-joined hands and then at her, she managed to give a little smile.

Like a bit of Kijyou's confidence was flowing into her, Haruka slowly and carefully slid her leg back and, finding someone's

leg behind her, rubbed it a bit against it. Like a little gesture. Sure enough, the hand on her butt squeezed, like it was

saying 'hello there' back to her.

"You know, Kijyou," Haruka said. "these inliners are really good."

"Mh? Yah, must be really practical at times."

Haruka stomped the front wheels onto the foot of the leg behind her and a loud scream was heard, the strange hand disappeared.

Several people flinched and looked at the man who had screamed, just as the bus stopped at the amusement park and opened

it's doors. Haruka was pulling Kijyou slightly towards the doors, then looked back at the man she had hurt.

"Fool!" she grinned, sticking out her tongue at him and laughed when she ran with Kijyou towards the entrance.

Kijyou was confused and looked at Haruka, who was bending down to detach the wheels from her sneakers.

"Haruka-chan, what happened?"

"Groper." she stowed the wheels into a small bag she had taken along, still kneeling on the ground. "A pervert got the

time of his life. Like he wanted." It seemed easier to say it casually just then and grinned at him when she stood up.

* * *

They spent some hours having fun just walking around and checking out the stands.

They were sitting on one of the benches after having lunch and sipping their drinks. People around them were miling about,

laughing or talking and making general noise you'd expect in an amusement park.

"Hmm, nothin' really I have as a favorite dish." Kijyou answered to Haruka's question, leaning back and staring at the sky,

thinking. "I like eatin' my cooking, though. But I enjoy eatin' anything a girl might make me."

He grinned at Haruka with a side-glance and she felt her cheeks reddening. Had he seen right through her?

She had practiced her cooking lately, so she got better .. and she had been playing with the thought of maybe

making a bento for Kijyou.

Throwing away their cups, they walked around a bit more, looking at the different attractions. They stopped at the jet-coaster

and watched one of the trains running along the tracks, through a looping and down steep drops.

".. Let's do it." Haruka said, hiding a slight catch in her voice.

"Ya sure?"

"Of course!" she nodded and walked determined towards the waiting line.

Kijyou joined her, smiling to himself.

Haruka wasn't that fond of jet-coasters, but knew that someone like Kijyou liked them. And there wasn't anything wrong with

trying them out. She was sure they were fun, she just wasn't used to loopings.

After about 10 minutes, half of that time used for waiting in line, they stepped off the train again and down the stairs from

the platform. Haruka was feeling rather wobbly on her legs, but tried to not show it.

"Ah, that was fun!" Kijyou sighed happily. "An' 'specially when it went through the loop!"

Haruka turned towards him with a slight twirl. "Yeah! The thrill was great!"

The sun was starting to set and groups were already forming a crowd around the route the parade would start within the hour.

Kijyou and Haruka stood among the crowd, watching the parade starting on it's road, lighting up it's way with several bulbs.

Mascots were dancing along the floats, every now and then grabbed someone from the crowd and danced with them.

They stayed until almost the end of it, watching the little lights growing fainter and fainter as they moved away and

exited the amusement park finally.

Kijyou insisted on walking her home again, a nice gesture and a last opportunity to talk about things before they went separete ways.

* * *

I'm _so_ sorry about the wait! Heh, almost two months ..  
I was stuck on several parts in this chapter - mostly what swimsuit Haruka would buy ..  
Anyway, just telling you that I've got ideas for Interludes in the manga (these will not be in story form!)  
and to assure you that things get more interesting from the second schoolyear onwards.  
And I'll try to upload some newer pictures of Haruka - it isn't mentioned yet, but she is starting to grow her hair already.  
By the way, the feeling Haruka gets during the groping scene is exactly what I felt when I got groped - although I didn't do what she did.  
Do other girls get groped on trains and escalators, or does that just happen to me?


End file.
